The webinar Space Life Sciences Challenges – Integrating Art with Science and Engineering to Engage and Innovate took place in the Scientix online meeting room on the 14th of June 2017 at 18:00 CEST, Brussels time.

The speaker, Dr. Jancy McPhee described the challenges of long-distance and long-term spaceflight for human space travelers. She then discussed how integrating art with space science and engineering can promote the engagement, innovation and collaboration required to solve space challenges. Lastly, she offered an example of an activity designed to help provide these benefits.

Dr. Jancy McPhee has a B.A. in Neurobiology and Behavior from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in Biophysics from Brandeis University. She was a cellular and molecular neuroscience researcher in academia for 17 years before joining the National Space Biomedical Research Association and later the Universities Space Research Association to manage various aspects of NASA’s domestic and international space life sciences research programs. Since 2010, her goals have been to find motivating and novel ways to enhance space education and science and technology innovation and to promote global collaboration. She created the international Humans in Space Art Program to encourage people of all ages, cultures and backgrounds to think about and creatively communicate their visions of the future of human space exploration through visual, literary, musical, and video art. So far, the Program has engaged 1000’s of artists, and 100,000’s have viewed multi-media artwork displays and performances online, locally on Earth, and in space. Most recently, she established SciArt Exchange, a nonprofit to expand the Humans in Space Art Program and initiate other global science-integrated-with-art activities that inspire the world about space, science and technology. These activities include training on topics such as science communication and the value of SciArt and techniques to STEAM-STEM education and foster team development. Dr. McPhee is also available for consulting on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) development of corporations and educational organizations.